Barbie Fashion Show Reminds Us of Fashions of Yesteryear and Encourages All to Love Ourselves

BY SUZIE WELLS

In celebration of the hotly anticipated Barbie movie, e Strong National Museum of Play hosted a Barbie-themed fashion show, “America’s Favorite Fashion Doll” on July 22nd and 23rd. Produced by Mary erese Friel Modeling Agency, this show featured models of all ages from the Rochester area.

Mary erese Friel, President of the Agency, said, “ e release of e Barbie movie provides a wonderful opportunity for us to share this phenomenal show with the community again. In true Barbie fashion, the wardrobe is fun, fancy, dramatic, and very couture.” e Barbie fashion show truly brought the doll to life. roughout the show, guests reminisced about fashion from yesteryear through today. Guests even experienced the full fashion show experience with a meet and greet with the models, who graciously posed for photos and signed autographs for their adoring fans. What an incredible experience for our community. e fashion show was inspired by e Strong Museum’s extensive Barbie collection. With “the world’s most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, …” e Strong o ers “a unique and educational window into the critical role of play in physical, social, and intellectual development, and the ways in which play re ects cultural history.” Psychologists and specialists from across the world ock to e Strong to view this glimpse of Americans’ history of play.

Models from the MTF Agency showcased a wide variety of Barbieinspired fashions, from everyday wear to formal gowns, even an iconic wedding gown. Minis, midis, maxis, oh my! Out ts featured a variety of fabrics and patterns, simple to extravagant, adorned tastefully to match, all maximizing the Barbie-like air.

Friel notes that the new movie “has created a deeper conversation about self-love. I want people to embrace and respect and love themselves.” Friel explains that the fashion show intended to re ect the movie’s positive selflove message.

Curators and historians at e Strong pride themselves on cra ing collections to help guests relive their childhoods. According to e Strong, “90% of American girls own at least one Barbie doll, and the average girl owns 10.” In 1988, Barbie was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, which “recognizes toys that have inspired creative play and enjoyed popularity over a sustained period.” e Strong’s collection features myriad di erent Barbie dolls from the years since its creation in 1959. Inspired by her daughter’s paper dolls, Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel, Inc., sought to make a more fun and interactive, threedimensional teen/adult doll people could adorn with the latest fashions. Going beyond the baby dolls children enjoyed, Handler created Barbie, the teenage fashion model, a “grown-up doll with a stunning wardrobe.” According to History, in March 1959, the doll named Barbie, short for Barbara Millicent Roberts, launched onto the American toy market, becoming the rst mass-produced toy doll in the US with adult features. Barbie sales soared with each annual addition of dolls and latest fashions.

According to Mattel, “Barbie inspires the limitless potential in every girl,” and Mattel and its Barbie line strive to encourage imaginative play and role-playing, prompting children “to discuss their thoughts about others’ emotions,” which “can have positive, long-lasting e ects, developing social processing skills like empathy.” As children play with Barbie dolls in their imaginative worlds, they process and envision the real world.

According to the rst neuroimaging study by Cardi University and Barbie, “when playing with dolls, children use increased language about others’ thoughts and emotions, [which] allows them to practice social skills they can use when interacting with people in the real world.” In today’s world, increased empathy is crucial, so hopefully children will continue to play with dolls and other interactive handheld toys.

Barbie has changed over the years to become more inclusive of the wide variety of people on earth. e symbol has generated incredible criticism over the years as well, with particular focus on body type and skin color stereotypes, but this criticism inspired the manufacturer to commit “to boosting girls’ self-esteem and gave Barbie a cosmopolitan sense and expanded career options.” Barbie has a wide array of abilities and interests, re ecting more of the variety in humans. Keeping their eyes set on the original focus of the doll as a fashion doll, Mattel has concocted a myriad of choices for children to enjoy throughout the years.

With Barbie now on people’s minds again, perhaps the current generation of children will again let their imaginations soar, and children of all ages, genders, abilities, and lifestyles will reconnect with their self-love and respect.